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Ask President Burrus
Question:
I can’t believe anyone would vote for this new contract. If management can hire casuals 365 days per year, they will never hire career employees again. Therefore, our union will go to pot. We aren’t going to live forever, and most of us plan to retire when we are eligible. Who is going to keep the union going if casuals are the largest percentage of employees?
Name Withheld
President Burrus:
Thank you for sharing your views regarding the recently negotiated National Agreement. I find it difficult to understand your logic in questioning the intelligence of more than 88 percent of the members who voted in favor of the contract.
Our union will not go to pot. We have had casuals in much greater numbers than are authorized in this agreement, and during that time, our union has become stronger. Throughout the 1990s, the number of casuals in APWU crafts exceeded 24,000 every pay period. And lest you forget, we also had more than 24,000 Transitional Employees, for a total of almost 50,000 non-career employees. Even with those numbers, our union did not go to pot.
The newly negotiated provisions cap the total number of casuals at 16,000, and impose other limitations on management’s use of casuals that did not previously exist. Prior to this Collective Bargaining Agreement, the 50,000 casuals and TEs were not limited in the type of work they could perform, when they could work, or whether they could be scheduled for overtime before the Overtime Desire List.
In addition, the District casual limitation was 15 percent, but it has been reduced to 6 percent under the new contract. In the past there was no limit per installation, but now the National Agreement restricts casuals to a maximum of 11 percent of the Clerk Craft per installation.
I can respect your views regarding the negotiated provisions, but I believe it is overly dramatic to suggest that reducing the number of casuals means the sky is falling.
April 30, 2007
APWU President William Burrus
Telephone: 202-842-4250
ABOUT THE
APWU PRESIDENT
The American Postal Workers Union’s top officer is its president, William Burrus. The president has overall responsibility for the operations of the APWU, as directed by the Constitution and Bylaws.
